KATU
KATU, virtual channel 2 (UHF digital channel 24), is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Portland, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, as part of a duopoly with La Grande-licensed Univision affiliate KUNP (channel 16). The two stations share studios on NE Sandy Boulevard in Portland; KATU's transmitter is located in the Sylvan-Highlands section of the city. History A construction permit for channel 2, Portland's last available channel allocation on the VHF band, was issued to Fisher's Blend Station, Inc., (later known as Fisher Communications) in 1958. However, KATU did not begin broadcasting until March 15, 1962, originally operating as an independent station. The station's transmitter was originally located atop Livingston Mountain, about 7 miles (11 km) NNE of Camas, Washington. On January 19, 1964, KATU moved its transmitter site 21 miles (34 km), to Portland's West Hills to improve its signal coverage. Just over a month later, it took over the ABC affiliation in Portland away from KPTV (channel 12) on March 1, 1964. This made KATU the fourth television station in the Portland market in less than a decade to have affiliated with ABC full-time (after KLOR, KGW—channel 8, and KPTV). It is also Portland's longest-lasting ABC affiliate to date. KATU is the only one of the first five television stations in Portland to have operated out of the same studio (at 2153 NE Sandy Boulevard) since it went on the air, although the building had earlier been used as a laundry for many years. From December 2008 to June 11, 2009, KATU (and the other Fisher-owned stations) were not carried by Dish Network due to a dispute over retransmission consent compensation. On April 10, 2013, KATU and Fisher Communications' other holdings were acquired by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. The Federal Communications Commission granted its approval of the deal on August 7, and the sale was completed the following day. On May 8, 2017, Sinclair Broadcast Group entered into an agreement to acquire Tribune Media – owner of CW affiliate KRCW-TV (channel 32) – for $3.9 billion, plus the assumption of $2.7 billion in debt held by Tribune, pending regulatory approval by the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. KUNP would not have been affected as its contours do not overlap with either KATU or KRCW. However, as current FCC rules forbid broadcasters from legally owning more than two full-power television stations in a single market and require at least eight distinct owners after the creation of a duopoly (there would be too few remaining if a new one is created), the companies would have been required to sell either KATU or KRCW to another station group in order to comply with FCC ownership rules preceding approval of the acquisition; however, a sale of either station to an independent buyer was dependent on later decisions by the FCC regarding local ownership of broadcast television stations and future acts by Congress. On July 18, 2018, the FCC voted to have the Sinclair–Tribune acquisition reviewed by an administrative law judge amid "serious concerns" about Sinclair's forthrightness in its applications to sell certain conflict properties. Three weeks later on August 9, Tribune announced it would terminate the Sinclair deal, intending to seek other M&A opportunities. Tribune also filed a breach of contract lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court, alleging that Sinclair engaged in protracted negotiations with the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division over regulatory issues, refused to sell stations in markets where it already had properties, and proposed divestitures to parties with ties to Sinclair executive chair David D. Smith that were rejected or highly subject to rejection to maintain control over stations it was required to sell. Category:ABC Affiliates Category:Channel 2 Category:Portland Category:Oregon Category:Sinclair Broadcast Group Category:1962 Category:Television channels and stations established in 1962 Category:Former independent stations Category:VHF Category:ABC Oregon Category:Former NTA Film Network affiliates